I am interested in who people think is the favorite now, since it seems that for many people Kristen was. Leaving out the chances people have for LCK and fan vote I would have to say Brooke is my pick currently. She seems solid and has a ton of experience.
I think Brooke or Sheldon, out of the current group, perhaps leaning a bit towards Sheldon. Although I also think there's a pretty good chance that Kristen will be back. Josh seems to have found his groove, but I think that he's a bit out of his league at this point. Lizzie is a tough call. She's obviously quite talented, but enough to win? I'm not sure.
I think Stephan will make it to the end again with a toss up between Sheldon and Brooke. Since there is LCK and the fan favorite I don't know if there is going to be a top 4 or 5 heading into the final group. I would like to see the top 3 get a shot at the finale, and not see #3 dropped due to a fan vote. That would be a huge middle finger in my opinion to the poor person that makes it so far only to be snubbed in the end (could you imagine making it to the end and seeing Josie come back because of voting?).
If I had to guess I would say its going to be a final 4 with the LCK winner and the fan favorite competing for spot 4 in some type of quickfire.
I'm not so sure. He's been off his game this season. He hasn't done badly, but he hasn't been winning challenges, either. I guess that could be strategy; he knows better than most what it takes to make it to the end. Who on Earth would vote for Josie?
I wasn't totally sold on Sheldon prior to restaurant wars but he was seriously impressive both in concept and execution. He's got what it takes to win. Then again, he might stumble, Top Chef is unforgiving that way, but if he doesn't make the finale I'll be sad.
This will be kind of long and all that as I rate the final 6 chefs. Brooke - as I said she is my personal favorite to win it all, has been consistant in every thing she has done, no real weaknesses I can see and seems to handle pressure really well. Sheldon - As Kalle said not too impressive up until restaurant wars where he really showed he can be a force to be reckoned with. But not sure if a challenge outside his comfort zone will throw him off and get him sent home as he wasnt very impressive until he was able to do his food his way, Lizzie - Highly talented but seems to be tiring of the whole thing and not keeping her head totally in the game. Every season there seems to be one or two chefs that just get worn down by the whole process and she seems to be the one this year. Josh - Wildly inconsistant and doesnt seem to take the challenges totally to heart, he would rather cook his food the way he wants then totally embracing the challenge. Like in restaurant wars Tom commented his dish was great, not tasting of the Philippines, but a good dish. Also claims to be a master of pork but almost every pork dish he does almost gets him sent home. Stephan - Just seems to be going through the motions this year, nothing spectacular and his performance in restaurant wars was abysmal front of the house. Seems to want to play the villian/asshole more then anything else. Josie - What more really needs to be said about her then she sucks and should not be on the show anymore. No strengths at all that I have seen other then throwing others under the bus to save her own skin. If Kristen or Kuniko comes back for the finale I would put either of them at the top of my list. Kristen because she is the best chef of this season overall in being able to do things in the quickfire/challenge environment along with being a damn good chef as well. Kuniko I think is the best chef this year, but she doesnt do well in the forced style/ingredient things that Top Chef is, but if she comes back where she just gets to cook her food her way she could take it all.
I generally agree with that breakdown, except that I think Sheldon has been pretty strong from the start. His record is slightly better than Brooke's--they both have two wins and have been in the losers' circle twice--but Sheldon has been in the top three additional times, and Brooke was in the top only two additional times. That's pretty nitpicky, I know. Overall, they are very close, and it's tough to call a winner. Unless Kristen comes back, in which case I'd go with her. Nobody else even comes close to her record--four wins, one additional time in the top, and zero times in the losers' circle aside from the episode in which she was eliminated. And even that was arguably a wrong call. She's a juggernaut.
I wont spoil things (yet, that comes tomorrow), but I am very happy with how everything turned out in this episode.
Well time to talk about the last episode. It had everything I wanted to see. Josie got kicked off and lost to Kristen on LCK. Stephan got called out for being the bullshitter and liar he is and as a bonus got slapped down verbally by Wolfgang Puck. Also what the hell was he thinking making Chicken Cordon Bleu for a fried chicken challenge? I was worried Brooke was going to be the one going home as she screwed up so badly, but thankfully Josie was worse. On to next week and hoping Stephan gets the boot.
Re: Josie: FINALLY. Reading the blogs, Tom says that Josie's dish was the worst one by far, so while they like to edit in such a way to maintain tension, I don't think there was much chance that anyone else would be going home. The judges were also pretty perplexed that, after asking the chefs to make them fried chicken, and after Tom specifically told them at the start that they were really in the mood for fried chicken so don't overthink it, so many of the chefs decided to make them dishes that weren't fried chicken. It's funny, because in a way the elimination challenge was very similar to the quickfire in that the challenge was to keep it simple and then execute perfectly. Tom was so frustrated by the lack of real fried chicken that he explained how to make it, step by step, in his blog. Future cheftestants take note. And it also gave Josh the opportunity to actually be funny for a change (Judges: What did you make?" Josh: Well, *I* made fried chicken" Judges: LOL). Was Wolfgang a little tipsy at dinner? I think he was. Edit: Also, Stefan. I've wondered throughout the season if his position in the middle of the pack was strategy on his part: play it safe, don't get eliminated, and then pull out the stops at the end. But at this point, I'm beginning to think that his head is just not in the game. This is the second week in a row that he has elected to flip the judges the bird, figuratively speaking, in an elimination challenge, and it's almost sent him home both times. I wouldn't be surprised if he were the next one to go.
Definately the last part is completely correct about Stephan. Also if Wolfgang being drunk at dinner and judges table gets us things like what he said to Stephan I will pay for his drinks for the rest of the season.
That was such a bizarre challenge. I thought it was remarkably clear that Tom was asking them to make something simple where the judging would be mostly on the merits of the technical execution. That any of them took the bones out first to make "fried chicken" just blows my mind. All I can say is that Brooke should be very thankful that Kristen took Josie's fall last week. If Josie had already been gone and wasn't around to make her special southern florida shit-bomb chicken I think Brooke would have gone home easy.
I could hardly watch this challenge with out screaming nearly every other second. As happy as I am about Josie finally getting the boot, at least she attempted to make fried chicken. I was guessing Stephan was on the way out with his huge F-U to the judges and show by making such a cafeteria food. I would have put Brooke behind Stephan (also for not making fried chicken) and Josie last. Obviously her food was that bad (not a surprise considering all the junk she put in the buttermilk...don't think she knows it's purpose in cooking) and in all it makes nearly everyone happy. I was glad to see he screw up LCK so badly as well...such a hack and bad representation of the industry.
Yeah, I felt bad for the judges eating this challenge. I got the sense they'd have rather eaten some KFC than Josie or Brooke's meals, and Stephen just went off into WTF-ville.
It's a tossup whether this belongs here or in the cooking thread, but I got Karen "A New Turn in the South" (Hugh Acheson's cookbook) for her birthday, and it's really quite good. I guess that's why he won a James Beard award for it. All southern regional dishes (including the right way to make fried chicken, with a side of stewed pickled green tomatoes; also about a dozen different recipes for pickles), and I like that the book is written in a very conversational tone--sort of like Hugh's Top Chef blog--so it's less like reading instructions and more like hanging out in Hugh's kitchen and chatting. Recommended!
If you're ever in Atlanta it's worth a trip to Empire State South, which is actually in the heart of Midtown and generally not that difficult to find. He has an interesting take on many dishes that are unmistakably southern cuisine but done in very creative and well-executed ways. It's good stuff, and they even have a bocce ball court if you want to have a game while you wait. Another piece of awesomeness is that ESS serves up Tiffin Box Lunches - basically a multi-tiered insulated set of cylindrical containers that can hold a variety of foods for easy transportation. I mildly rage at working just far enough away that's it's not feasible to take advantage of this for lunch, because they look amazing to me.
Wow, what was up with Sheldon this episode? He came perilously close to going home, although after reading Tom's blog it sounds like it was not as close as it seemed in the episode (Tom said that while Sheldon's dish lacked overall creativity and that the tempura was bad, many of the other components tasted good, whereas Stefan's dish was just really mediocre in general). And Brooke... As I said to Karen the moment she picked those ingredients, "She's either going to go home, or she's going to win."
Well finally got around to watching it last night from dvr and another good episode. Stephan going home was good, it was time for him to go. And I don't see anyone defeating Kristen for LCK and I think CJ can win fan vote. Sheldon was lucky that Stephan did so bad, and I think we have now heard the worst excuse ever for something not going well. The ingredients didn't 'speak' to him, but he had the choice of any ingredients on the entire ship first. Brooke rebounded very well from her fried chicken disaster with an extremely gutsy pairing of frog legs and mussels. But like Ben said it was either going to be a win or she goes home. Josh I don't know what to make of right now, other then if he makes the finale its going to be a tour of the bacons of the world. I know bacon is one of the best foods in the world, but you don't need to have it in every single dish you cook on the show. Lizzie I keep waiting for her to break down at judges table, the look on her face says she has been beaten down but somehow she keeps making if not great, at least good food.
To be fair, it's a testament to how incredibly good bacon is that Josh has made it this far. It's not going to be enough alone to actually win the thing, but how can the judges resist bacon?
Just watched LCK. Yay! I think Stefan has the best talking-head interviews on the show, because he basically gives no fucks, and I'll miss him. I was honestly expecting Lizzie to go home this time because we got to hear about her father and that usually means they want to build up character before sending someone home. On the other hand, we get to hear about how Stefan lost his virginity on a cruise, which, I think, is the producers giving no fucks right back to him.
Ok got around to watching the latest episode and it was interesting. We actually got to see Josh cook a dish without bacon used in some way which I think is a first for this season. Too bad to see Lizzie go, but as I have said before she was just looking beat up by the whole process so it was time I think. Brooke is the one to beat now, no questions about it, Sheldon has been in the bottom the past two episodes and it can be said he was just lucky someone else made more mistakes then he did both times as what he has been cooking just isn't all that good. Josh seems like Lisa was a few seasons ago, a decent chef who has gone far further in the competition then their ability should have gotten them. We also now have been told how the fan favorite works, the winner of fan favorite will face off in LCK against whoever is the last one standing there and the winner of that gets back into the finals. I feel better about that as they actually do have to cook their way back in and not just get placed there by a fan vote. Right now my final 3 is Brooke Kristen and Josh. I just think Sheldon will continue to self destruct and there wont be anyone this last episode before the finale to save him. I also don't see Kristen getting defeated in LCK by whoever the fan favorite is.
I think Sheldon has been doing some risky dishes and has just had some bad luck, with the exception of the surf and turf challenge, where he just choked. I wouldn't count him out of it yet, especially against Josh, who has had some lucky breaks, like his surf and turf dish that failed utterly, but then ended up tasting good anyway. He could have just as easily gone home for that. Sheldon still has a better season record than Josh, and his best dishes blow away anything that Josh has done. If Sheldon loses out to Josh, it will be because he dropped the ball, not because Josh out-cooked him. Brooke is in the groove and will almost certainly make it to the final. And my money is still on Kristen making it back, even though CJ is probably going to get another crack at her.
I'd take Sheldon over Josh any day. Brooke is looking like the one to beat, but Kristen is just one challenge away from rejoining the pack and she definitely has what it takes to win.
Two weeks ago I would have agreed with you, but Josh has cooked better food then him the last two ECs and Sheldon was just lucky that Stephan served massively overcooked pork and that Lizzie didn't bother to taster her food. Either of them do a bit better and Sheldon would be home right now. Is Sheldon a better cook overall then Mr Bacon? Of course he is, but right now Josh is cooking better food, and thats all that matters.
Sheldon just needs to go back to what he knows. Every season we see a chef cook outside their scope because they feel the need to show how versatile they are. In reality there are very few chefs that have such a massive scope of knowledge, the ACF only recognizes about 80 chefs in the world as "master chefs". Josh has gone back to what he knows and stopped "going out there" and his food is showing it. Sheldon has instead "gone out there" and messed up the last two challenges, Padma even said Sheldon has been doing surf'n'turf dishes all season with great execution. He just needs to get out of his head and cook with the soul. If he does that I call Josh going out next week; he is the weaker of the three and he is very distracted. I also see him losing in LCK so here is looking forward to a rematch of CJ and Kristin.
Let's also not forget that he won the last two Quickfires. I know Quickfires won't save someone from going down at this point, but I also don't think it's entirely fair to say that he's completely off his game. As Greg says, he just needs to focus a bit and stop worrying about being branded as a guy that does a specific type of cuisine. In reality, that's kind of a strength. Tom has consistently had great things to say about his food whenever he's gone full-on Filipino.
Fucking hell, the UI for the video player for Last Chance Kitchen is the clunkiest, buggiest piece of shit I have ever seen. Edit: and fair warning: after all the hassle to get the damn video to play without crapping out, or without playing the challenge video simultaneously with the video and audio for the Prius ad, or without two or three different video player UIs arbitrarily popping up and obscuring half the screen, it turns out that you don't get to find out who wins until next week's episode. So, spoilers for those who want them: Josh was up against Kristen, and Lizzie was also back as the winner of the viewer's choice thing, narrowly beating out CJ. Josh undercooked his venison and was given the boot. Both Lizzie and Kristen cooked dishes that clearly impressed Tom. Like, a lot. So I have no freaking clue which one of them is going to win it. It could easily go either way. As for this week's regular episode, Brooke's utter dominance continues unabated. And although I did feel that it was past time for Josh to go, I felt really bad for all the stress he must have been under while his wife was giving birth. Poor guy. He's out of the competition, but at least he gets to go home to one hell of a consolation prize.
Right people in the mix.. Brooke, Sheldon, Lizzie and Kristen have been the best cooks this season. Lizzie is the weakest but any of the other 3 winning would not bother me in the slightest.
Well we are now at the finale for next week and its who I thought it would be. Brooke, even on a bad day like she had is still making better food then anyone else. Kristen is lucky Sheldon still didn't make 'his' food for yet another episode. So we have Kristen vs Brooke for the title. Brooke has been the best chef on the season and I don't think we have seen someone so dominant on the show, she was won the last 4 or 5 elimination challenges. I think what happened in the semis will be good for her, she lost her way there, was able to work through it and still made the best food. I don't see her having similar issues in the finale. Kristen has the talent to be as good if not a better chef then Brooke, but I dont know if she has the experience yet to pull this off. Something telling last night was that when given too much time she said she tends to overthink things and with the finale being wide open cook whatever you want I think she may have some issues. I wonder how they will do the assistants for this season, will it be well known chefs or former contestants. Well looking forward to next week and see who wins it, my choice, if it isnt obvious already is Brooke to take it all.
From the teaser it looks like the finale will be done Iron Chef style in some sort of kitchen stadium with the cooking done in front of a live audience. I did spot CJ as one of the sous chefs so it looks like former contestants. Perhaps they'll do the challenge where each contestant makes a dish and the finalists select the 3 dishes they liked the most anonymously. I'm rooting for Kristen, as I think when her mind is in the right place she has amazing talent. While Brooke has won challenge after challenge in the main competition, Kristen's done the same in LCK. I could honestly see it go either way though - both are phenomenal and have been all season. I think it's just going to come down to who executes more flawlessly, and that's anyone's game. Pretty cool to have a finale with two female chefs though - I don't recall that's a typical outcome from previous seasons.
I think there's only been one female Top Chef winner previously, and that was from before I started watching the show. Kristen and Brooke make for a great finale. I do feel bad about Sheldon but going from three great chefs to two is never easy.
Yeah, I would have been fine with any of those three chefs going to the finale. And at the end of the day, there can be only one. I have no idea who it's going to be, though. Brooke and Kristen are both incredibly talented, and it's anyone's game at this point.
I, too, would have been happy with any of those three winning, though our household was rooting for Sheldon. Too many times we see people reach the endgame and go home for not doing the style of food that got them to the end, but I have to imagine having 6 months to let the weight of the finale get inside your head really messes with a lot of people.
Yeah, I'm really not sure what he was thinking, there. There's a place for showing the judges that you have some range and flexibility over the course of the competition, but not in the finale. The finale is for cooking your food.
I am going to call it now that Kristin wins. Brooke only went on her power streak *after* Kristin was sent packing, before that Kristin was kicking ass, taking names, money, and cars. Given that she made it to the finals on LCK just tells me she is in a great position to win. I am sad to see Sheldon go, but every season we see chefs trying to show that they have grown and forget what got them to the endgame (or even finals). I would have liked to see two chefs that do not own restaurants compete as opposed to someone who already owns two. But that is more of a personal thing. Lastly, I can sort of feel their pressure and pain of what they are about to do. When I took my culinary exams to be certified I had 6 Certified Executive Chefs looking over every cut, cooking technique, and plating for 4 hours solid. I am glad they got a couple weeks to recharge because they are already exhausted from the first weeks and the pressure of the live finale with all the big names there is going to be unreal. The good news is they will have a lot of close contact with restaurant owners and investors so I hope the person who loses still gets the money help needed.
